VA sheriff vows to deputize residents in response to expected gun control legislation

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Back in the day deputizing residents was S.O.P. Wish it hadn't changed my property taxes would be lower. Good on this guy for standing up to the thugs running Virginia. Was considering property there until all this went down. Western Virgina state is one of the most beautiful areas I've seen and affordable to. Proximity to the crime boss's in DC is a killer.
 
While I applaud this and other sheriffs, and really, I DO, I see this having legal/civil ramifications should one of these deputized citizens actually shoot someone, whether the deputized citizen is justified or not.
 
While I applaud this and other sheriffs, and really, I DO, I see this having legal/civil ramifications should one of these deputized citizens actually shoot someone, whether the deputized citizen is justified or not.

Be the same as any other deputy doing it.

You will be sued regardless, except truly judged by a jury of your peers.
 
Change for good has started in grass roots ways for 2A. Now it is slowly picking up momentum. There are other things/principals many people are realizing that are intertwined with the 2A and RKBA that need to be maintained. Hopefully enough support at the ballot box in future elections rolls back this cancer in our midst. Vote your conscience and educate others with the truth and things will turn around eventually.
 
RIchmond seriously needs to hand over NoVA to District of Columbia and allow it to become one state.. It would work out better for both places. Nova is essentially Southern DC and shouldn't control Virginia's politics, culture and way of life. At this point, with my own home state, I wish Portland would become its own state (maybe Portlandia?) and leave the rest of Oregon alone.
 
That would mean throwing gun owners in northern Virginia under the bus. State preemption is the main thing that's saving us now.

I use to love the city of Portland a lot, especially when I lived there in the 90s. It was very live and let live. Even many of the hippies I knew had guns and like to go hunt and had a very outdoorsy vibe. Now, the city is just a lost cause and most of the people who live there are not even from Oregon anymore and, yet, they are the ones who dictate the politics for the whole state.

Pre-emption laws haven't saved Washington state much either, because once the Dems took over most of the state they started voting away rights one by one that would be enforced state-wide. Pre-emption only is as good as your state's legislation. If a state could enact a law where county's have the authority to make their own gun laws that could be your only benefit I could see with keeping NoVa around. But, that could swing both ways, as we saw what happened in Boulder county , where the city of Boulder instituted its own Assault Weapon Ban and demanded all residents register their gun with the city police. Not a single person, as I know registered their guns and it is a court battle to this day. Supposedly, Colorado has pre-emption, we will see how that flies as well with the super liberal government controlling most of the state now.
 
While I applaud this and other sheriffs, and really, I DO, I see this having legal/civil ramifications should one of these deputized citizens actually shoot someone, whether the deputized citizen is justified or not.

Not sure if this applies in Virginia

Sheriffs had (in some places, still have) the power to deputize people to assist them in recapturing a fugitive or just maintaining the peace. This was also called "forming a posse." Most old-time sheriffs were one-man offices and had no employees to assist them. When and where the law was operative, the sheriff could compel the assistance of any able-bodied man (and it usually read "man") to help him do what needed to be done. It was a separate criminal offense to refuse. While deputized, the deputy had all the powers and protections of the sheriff, including the ability to use deadly force to capture a felon.

Sheriffs still deputize people, but they're usually paid employees ("deputy sheriffs") or volunteers, usually called "reserve deputies."

The custom of forming a posse is not dead. A bit over ten years ago, in rural Wheeler County, Oregon (pop. 1441 at the last census), the sheriff came to know about an indoor marijuana grow and meth lab operation in a ranch house in an isolated area. The sheriff had two full-time deputies. He asked the Oregon State Police for help in taking down the operation, but they were out of budget money for the year, and couldn't pay their troopers to help. He resolved the problem by deputizing some citizens in whom he had confidence, and they assaulted the house with a search warrant. There was a small convoy of heavy-duty pickup trucks and Jeeps, and they took possession of the house with no one on either side injured. The county got some money out of it when the house was forfeited to the state and sold, and the drug operation was out of business. They were pretty proud of having taken care of the problem without outside help.
 
I don't know about Virginia, but in some states in which I've lived, the state government sets the qualifications and requirements for certification for a sworn law enforcement officer in that state. Any candidate for "deputy" must meet those minimum qualifications, which usually includes a whole lot of academy training. I suspect that, if this is not grandstanding, and said sheriff (and/or sheriffs) follow through, the state of Virginia will quickly legislate this challenge out of existence by simply denying credentials to candidates who don't meet the minimum standards.

It's still a good "out of the box" solution and we need leaders thinking like that.
 
I think some took my thoughts to mean I think they shouldn’t do it. I’m not saying that. My main concerns lie with having the SO sued many times over in civil court. Even a good shooting will pay out millions sometimes. I would just as soon see the sheriff declare a county a 2A County. I don’t want to see good sheriffs get a bad wrap. After all, the idea they are trying to propagate is freedom. As @D.B. Cooper said, some places require (relatively) stringent qualifications. So does the older man (or woman) in a wheelchair qualify? Or the single mom (or dad) who can’t afford the time off to take the required courses? Or what if they don’t have any good reason, they just don’t think they should be deputized to be able to carry a firearm. They just simply believe it’s their right.
 
Iwhat if they don’t have any good reason, they just don’t think they should be deputized to be able to carry a firearm. They just simply believe it’s their right.

I think that right there is entirely the VA sheriff's point. People should be able to carry a firearm, but they can't. Subsequently, the sheriff will simply deputize anyone who applies so they can.
 
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